Picture this: Tiebreak, 5:6, your serve. You fetch the ball, walk quickly to the line and toss it up at once. Your breath is short and shallow, your arm feels like wood. The serve comes out with no pace, and the set is gone.
In moments like these, technique is rarely what is missing. What is missing is calm. You can train it, and your breath is a direct route to it. With the breath reset from the Mental Journal, you get this calm back in two breaths. It does not mean tiredness but an alert calm that leaves you ready for the next ball.
What pressure does to your breath
When things get tight, your body revs up. Your heart beats faster, you breathe short and high into your chest, your shoulders and forearm tighten. That is helpful for a quick dash to the net. For a touch volley or a loose serve, less so.
You have no direct access to your heart rate. You do to your breath, and the breath acts back on your heart rate. When you breathe in, your heartbeat gets slightly faster, when you breathe out, slightly slower. So if you breathe out for longer than you breathe in, you strengthen a brake that the body has built in anyway. This is exactly where the breath reset comes in.
The breath reset in three steps
The tool fits into every break between two points. You need nothing for it but yourself:
- Breathe in: Breathe in through your nose for about four seconds.
- Breathe out: Let the air flow out slowly for about six seconds.
- Let go: Let your shoulders drop. Then you move on into the next point.
Four words are enough to remember it: Long out, then go. Count along in your head at first. With a little practice you will find the rhythm without counting.
When to use the breath reset in a match
The rules of the International Tennis Federation ITF allow you a break of up to 25 seconds after every point. The clock starts when the rally ends and stops with the next serve. Two calm breaths fit into that. Three moments are especially suitable:
- On the way to the line: After a long rally or an annoying mistake, you deliberately walk slowly. Only after two breaths do you serve or get ready for the return.
- At the changeover: Sit down, take a sip and breathe out long three times. Only then do you think about tactics.
- When your heart rate rises: before a break point, after losing a lead or when your opponent is hitting everything. The tighter the score, the more the reset pays off.
When I report from the Swiss Indoors in Basel for Tennis Schweiz, it is worth watching the seconds between points. The next time you watch a professional match, look out for who visibly breathes out long before serving.
How to practise the breath reset in training
Under pressure you fall back on what you have practised. That is why the breath reset belongs in practice first. This is how you build it up step by step:
- Sitting down: At home, take five breaths in the rhythm four seconds in, six seconds out. Give your calm a number from 1 to 10 before and after.
- In point play: Play a set or several tiebreaks in practice. After every point you lose, do the breath reset before the next one begins.
- Keep count: After each game, make a mark if you did not forget the reset a single time. Note the number after practice.
- Step it up: Once it works after lost points, use the reset after every point. That way it becomes your fixed rhythm.
One variation for home is cyclic sighing. After a deep breath in through your nose, you briefly draw in air a second time. Then you let it all out slowly through your mouth. For a Stanford University study, participants breathed this way for five minutes every day for a month. Their mood lifted more clearly than in a comparison group that did mindfulness meditation. Try both forms and keep the one that makes you calmer.
Typical breathing mistakes under pressure
Despite my training as a mental coach (NLP), I catch myself speeding up under pressure. Watch out for these:
- Rushing: Under pressure, many players go faster instead of slower. The seconds between points belong to you, so take them.
- Holding your breath: Many hold their breath without noticing during the ball toss or before the return. Pay close attention to this in practice for once.
- Tight grip: Tension often sits in the forearm. Feel how tightly you are holding the racket and deliberately loosen your grip as you breathe out.
A calm mind off the court too
You can also use the breath reset before an exam, a presentation or a difficult conversation. But sometimes your head is so full that breathing alone is not enough. Then writing things down helps. Researchers at Baylor University asked young adults to write for five minutes before going to sleep. One group noted their unfinished tasks, the other what they had already done. Those who wrote down the unfinished tasks fell asleep faster.
Frequently asked questions about breathing in tennis
How do you breathe correctly in tennis?
Between points, breathe in calmly through your nose and out again for longer. During the stroke itself, the main thing is not to hold your breath. Many players breathe out quietly or audibly at contact.
How much time do you have between two points?
Under the ITF rules, up to 25 seconds, from the end of the rally to the next serve. That is enough for two calm breaths and a clear plan.
Does breathing also help with nerves before a match?
A long breath out brings you down when your heart is racing. But it is often worth using the excitement as readiness instead of breathing it away entirely. You can read how in the post Nervous before a match? Use the energy.
How to practise the breath reset with the Mental Journal
“A calm mind” is the second week in the Mental Journal by Tennis Schweiz. Its tool is the breath reset, which you place in your personal toolbox as a card. Over seven days you rate your level of calm and find out where tension shows up in you. You compare two breathing rhythms, loosen your grip and deliberately take your time between points. One day is devoted to a full head in everyday life. The week ends with a weekly review and a short knowledge check on the seventh day. Allow around five minutes for each daily page.
If you are new to the book, you get to know the circle of control in the first week. More mental tips for court and everyday life are under All Kopfsache posts.
